Down with the Ten Commandments.

First of all, the monument has only been in the rotunda since rotunda on July 31, 2001 - hardly a historical artifact, let alone a Christian symbol since the 10 C's were actually given to the Israelites and merely coopted by Christians.

Second, it was more than a bit over the top for a judge to use government property to try to impose his personal religion on others.

Imagine the outcry if a judge had installed a monument with the 5 pillars of Islam or the 8-fold path of Buddhism or - heaven forbid! - the Wiccan Rede:

"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"

It is a good thing that the 10 C's and all of the other rules given to Moses concurrently are NOT the basis of our laws; otherwise we would be required to stone people to death for offenses such as blasphemy and engaging in unsanctioned sex.

What a mess THAT would make in the rotunda!

Even Bob Barr on Maher's show this week, noting the huge size and weight of the monument, said it did not belong there. Bill even produced a small reproduction on dark grey marble that was given to him for his office, Barr (a conservative) saying that it was more appropriate. What was noted is there are only two commandments that have anything to do with the law: thou shalt not steal and thou shalt not kill. A good proportion of the human race (and it seems, mostly the religious) has long ago qualified the "shall not kill" as actually meaning "thou shalt not murder."

I'm surprised the judge didn't order some Cecil B. Demille special effects with a hologram of a flaming finger passing across the monument as if carving in the letters!

The people who are outside that courthouse, fasting, praying and shouting hallelujah, strike me as our very own Taliban in the sense that they want to impose their religious ideology on the rest of us.

Interestingly enough (to me, at least), this story is moving quickly. In Eugene, where I lived in the '70s, some kindred spirit to the Alabama judge erected a huge metal cross atop a butte one night. It was on public property and visible for miles. The issue was in the courts for decades before the thing was finally moved to a Christian college. Amazing...

D'art, "Our own Taliben" huh? c.i.

Yup.

The online polls associated with this story continue to be surprising (at least to me).

The question is now phrased as:
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Is it appropriate to have a monument to the Ten Commandments in a state courthouse?
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And the results are:

Yes 53% 175816 votes
No 47% 157217 votes

Total: 333033 votes
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Given the readership of CNN (online technology users), I might have thought that more people would realize that it is clearly not appropriate to have the Ten Commandments in a state courthouse.

I wonder what the demographic is for people reading the CNN article? Are more people from the south (or Alabama) reading it and responding to the poll, or is it an accurate slice of the US population? I wish there was a way to tell.

Also, I find it a bit annoying that the monument has been there for over two years now, and may remain a bit longer while all the legal wranglings are worked out.

I think that a lot of people take our constitution, and especially the establishment clause, for granted. So it'll be very interesting to see how this particular challenge is met by the courts (especially the Supreme Court if the matter gets to them).

Best Regards,

I realize that we're all addicted to polls in this country, but this is a matter of principle. And online polls are notoriously inaccurate...

rosborne, These are the same majority that feels GWBush is doing a good job. I don't find it surprising at all; it's the south. c.i.

The ugly block of stone is going to be dragged away kicking and screaming...and it doesn't have any legs just like the idea of placing them there in the first place has no legs.

It's true that too many Christian leaders have the
agenda that the US, state by state, should be a theocracy and everyone should be forced by law to go to church, have the ten commandments posted on their door or in their house and if not kissing their ring, perhaps kissing something which would reveal their true colors.

Wow, rosborn, those are amazing results.

And, Cic, Bush slipped slightly out of favor at least for a moment as shown in a newsweek poll which released new numbers on saturday.

I don't know D'artagnan, some polls are extremely accurate. Polls for the last presidential election showed an even split, and lo and behold...

I'm not saying that a CNN online poll has the same level of accuracy (I am questioning the demographic), but still, I think the numbers are a wake up call for those that think this issue is clear cut. No matter what demographic, that poll shouldn't be 53/47, it should be 95/5 with a majority recognizing the basic principle of the Establishment clause. But it isn't.

I recognize the argument that you and CI are making, but I'm not sure I'm inclined to brush it off as inaccurate measurement, or skewed demographics so quickly. Not that I have a proposal for what to *do* about it or anything (short of overhauling the entire education system and waiting a couple of generations), but I do find it interesting.

Best Regards,

So far, Howard Dean seems to be our only hope of getting rid of the devils in the white house. As long as the polls continue to show a downhill slide for GWBush and company for the next 15 months, I'll keep my hopes up. c.i.

rosborne, I find polls as interesting as the next person, and heck, I even vote in on-line polls myself. But I do feel that polls have taken on too much importance in influencing policy in this country. The way Clinton made decisions is a good example--and I'm not a Clinton basher...

The tablets do look rather crude, they are not exactly an "antique" that brings back old memories. Why don't these people move this old relic on down the street, place it in or in front of a Christian church?

Maybe they can use it to anchor the devil in the middle of the ocean.

If the Children of Israel could build a golden statue of a calf, right-on-the-spot then God surely could have used at least beautiful marble to etch on.

It would have been much easier to move the thing if they had just smashed it into bits and shoveled it into some wheelbarrows.

I wonder how much the moving crew is charging to get it out of sight, and I wonder who has to pay for it.

For that matter, who paid for it in the first place, was it Judge Moore's personal property? If so, shouldn't he pay to have it moved?